Historical Information:

From Web Art Academy: “In the beginning, before the printing press, printmaking
was not considered an art form, rather a medium of communication. It was not till
the 18th century that art prints began to be considered originals and not till the
19th that artists began to produce limited editions and to sign their prints along
with the technical information necessary to authenticate the work. Engraving goes
back to cave art, executed on stones, bones and cave walls. The duplication of
engraved images goes back some 3,000 years to the Sumerians who engraved
designs on stone cylinder seals.” Woodcut technique of printing originated in China
and was used to print on textiles and later paper. Other techniques include etching,
lithography, engraving, and screen printing

Printmaking Techniques:

WOODCUT: ENGRAVING: STAMPING:

Jose Guadalupe Posada Albrecht Dürer Stephen Fowler

ETCHING: LITHOGRAPHY: SCREEN PRINTING:

Rembrandt Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Andy Warhol

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Contemporary/Historical/Multicultural exemplars:
Jose Guadalupe Posada: (1853 –1913) was a Mexican political printmaker and
engraver whose work has influenced many Latin American artists and cartoonists
because of its satirical acuteness and social engagement. He used skulls, calaveras, and
bones to make political and cultural critiques.
Dürer: (1471 – 1528) was a painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German
Renaissance. Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe when he was
still in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints.
Andy Warhol: was an American artist, director and producer who was a leading figure
in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between
artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourished by the 1960s, and
span a variety of media, including painting, silk-screening.
Techniques:
Woodcut: A print of a type made from a design cut in a block of wood, formerly
widely used for illustrations in books. With this technique cuts are made on to wood
leaving only the parts of an image you want to show up when applying ink on your block.
Collagraph: A Collagraph refers to a collage of materials glued on to a "printing plate,"
which is a square of cardboard. When glue is dry, it is shellaced or varnished so that it
can be painted with acrylics. Paper is then pressed on to the surface to produce a print.
Engraving: Prints made with the engraving technique are carved on to a hard surface
such as a metal place with a sharp tool called a scribe.
Scratch foam: An engraving technique that uses a easy to scratch foam plate. An
image is scratched on to the surface of the foam plate and coated with paint with a
brayer and then pressed on to paper.
Etching: This technique creates prints achieved through a series of steps that are
similar to the engraving method but use acid to etch carvings into a copper or zinc
plate. The coated plate only allows exposed areas to be etched in when placed in an acid
bath. When ink is applied and cleaned off ink will be left only on the now etched areas
of the print.
Stamping: This technique’s purpose is to impress a pattern on mark using engraved
manufactured stamps or any objects dipped in paint and impressed on paper.
Lithography: The process of printing from a flat surface using the chemical principal
that grease repels water. The flat surface (usually a limestone) is drawn on to with a
greasy crayon then coated with some water. When the ink is applied from a roller on to
the flat surface it is only attracted to the greasy image and repelled by the water.
Screen Printing: The process of printing that uses a mesh to transfer ink on to a
surface, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. This
technique is very often used to print images on to T-shirts.
Monoprinting: is a form of printmaking that has lines or images that can only be made
once, unlike most printmaking, where there are multiple originals.

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 Vocabulary:

BRAYER: A small, hand-held rubber roller used to spread printing ink evenly
on a surface before printing.
BAREN: A round, smooth pad, either flat or slightly convex, used to press
paper against an inked wood or linoleum block to lift an impression from the
block.
BLOCK: In printing, a piece of thick, flat material, with a design on its
surface, used to print repeated impressions of that design. Called a PLATE in
etching and engraving (metal).
PRINT: The actual picture the artist makes from a printmaking process.
PRINTMAKING: The process of designing and producing prints using a
printing block, woodcut, etching, lithographic, or screen-printing.
ARTIST’S PROOF: One of a small group of prints set aside from the edition
for the artist’s use.
EDITION: A set of identical prints, that are numbered and signed. This set
of prints have been pulled by or under the supervision of the artist and are
authorized for distribution.
GOUGE: In relief printing, a tool for clearing non-image areas from a block
of wood or linoleum.
BURIN: An engraver’s tool with a steel shaft and a sharp, oblique point at
one end and a handle at the other. A burin cuts into a metal plate by being
pushed forward rather than being drawn toward the artist.
SCRIBE: Sharp pointed tool used to scratch the surface of a coated plate
for etching.
RELIEF: Printmaking technique in which the image is printed from a raised
surface, usually produced by cutting away non-image material.
INTAGLIO PRINTING: (an Italian term) the ink is deposited below the
surface of the plate which has been corroded, scratched, or incised, and the
surface wiped clean; a damp paper is forced into the surface in a press.
PRINTING PRESS: A device used by a fine art printmaker to produce
prints one copy at a time. It applies pressure between a sheet of paper and
an inked printing plate. Presses for intaglio printing apply considerable
pressure as they force the paper and plate between a roller and a flat bed,
thus squeezing the paper into the inked grooves of the plate.

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